Neural basis of personality

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Transcript of Neural basis of personality

AgreeablenessExtraversionConscientiousnessIntroductionBibliographySocial Anxiety DisorderLink in the brainMedial Orbitofrontal CortexAnterior cingulate cortexAmygdalaDopamine + opioid systemsFear and avoid the scrutiny of othersConcern about saying or doing something that will result in embarrassment or humiliationDifferencesPathological intraversion?‘The tendency to experience the negative emotions and cognitions that accompagny experiences of threat and punishment, including anxiety, depression, anger, irritation, self-conciousness, rumination and vulnerability’

‘Neuroticism reflects a global dimension of negative emotionality that encompasses the tendencies to experience negative affect in the face of minor stressors, to be aroused quickly and for arousal to fall slowly following stimulation. It also reflects tendencies towards worrying and post-event processing, tendencies to appraise events as stressful and an inability to control urges. A core feature of neuroticism is a difficulty in emotion regulation' Big five personality traitRelatively stable over timeHard to change with therapeutic interventions

‘Neuroticism reflects a global dimension of negative emotionality that encompasses the tendencies to experience negative affect in the face of minor stressors, to be aroused quickly and for arousal to fall slowly following stimulation. It also reflects tendencies towards worrying and post-event processing, tendencies to appraise events as stressful and an inability to control urges. A core feature of neuroticism is a difficulty in emotion regulation' neural correlates of the psychopathic core features of callousness and poor moral(DeYoung, 2010, pp. 1172).(Barnhofer & Chittka, 2010, pp. 275). 1. Stress dysregulates HPA-ax2. Hippocampal volume reduces3. Activity in prefrontal cortex reduces4. Result: homeostasis within neurocircuit of depression disrupted

DISCUSSIONThe research towards the neurobiology of personality is still in its infancy and our current understanding of neurobiology seems to be insufficient to develop a model of personality that is only derived from biological variables (Foster & Macqueen, 2008). NATURE VS NURTUREDo you think that neuroscience can say anything useful about the underlying brain mechanisms of personality? And about the relation between the brain and psychiatric disorders?Do you think they should be held responsible for their actions?

“I’m obnoxiously competitive. I won’t let my grandchildren win games. I’m kind of an asshole, and I do jerky things that piss people off. I’m aggressive, but my aggression is sublimated. I’d rather beat someone in an argument than beat them up.”

There are some people who have had a brain damage and afterward experienced a drastic change in personality.By looking inside the brain we can discover many things about people's personality. How far do you think we should go? Is it ethic to classify a person according to what his/her brain structure shows?Neuroscience in general is based on LOCALIZATIONISM - theory that different brain functions can be localized to different physical regions of the brain.The other idea, that has only lately rised, is NEURPLASTICITY - brain's ability to change neural pathways and improve/replace some functionsHow does our brain work? Are functions localized, or plastic and dynamic? If the brain really is plastic, is there any point in trying to find personality trait in one single structure?What plays bigger role in the development of personality: brain (NATURE) or the environment (NURTURE)?We've heard dozen of findings about the way in which the architecture of the brain predisposes personality.